This study analyses the efficiency in knowledge transmission of organizations and local regions participating in European R&D projects in 2000–2013 within renewable energy (RE) sectors (wind, solar, sea, geothermal, and biomass) using social network analysis (SNA). A review of the collaborative R&D consortium networks as technological transfer structures and public policy support issues was carried out. Then, not only is the traditional SNA centrality perspective of actors employed to identify key players who bridge less connected areas, but also the structural hole approach is applied based on the relative position, role, and potential redundancy of collaborations from the overall network perspective. It reveals that networks of organizations and local regions are neither completely random nor homogenous in terms of cohesion and efficiency. Additionally, the existence of areas between core and peripheral nodes (structural holes) is confirmed. Higher education and research centers, which show a greater influential position and higher experience, take advantage of them. Research concludes that the efficiency in terms of knowledge transmission is not always positively correlated with high centrality values. The most emergent RE sectors still appear less efficient according to the rankings produced integrating both approaches. This paper makes a novel academic contribution to RE policy makers since a new application of centrality and efficiency perspectives is applied. As a result, policy makers should consider it in detail when designing public RE projects with the aim of building an efficient European Research Area.
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